Page 91 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘Me too.’
They picked up the pace, despite the treacherous ground beneath them, both eager to be indoors, finally able to get dry and warm. When they reached the gate, they saw a light in the downstairs window, as there had been a few nights before, but this time it came from a group of candles, lit by Billie. There were no other lights on in the rest of the house.
Alex unlocked the door, and they tumbled over the threshold together, both of them laughing with delirious relief.
Billie was in a fleecy dressing gown, sitting in the old rocking chair in the corner of the kitchen with a crossword puzzle and a torch. Grizzle had been at her feet, but at the sight of Alex and Zoe, he leaped up and began to bark, dancing around them with his tail whirring.
‘All right, all right…’ Alex chuckled. ‘Give us a minute!’
‘Where have you been?’ Billie demanded. ‘I didn’t know what to do! I couldn’t get a phone signal, and the lights went out, and you weren’t?—’
‘The power’s gone off in the village too,’ Alex said. ‘And our phones were out of action. We’ve had to walk, and it’s tough going out there, so…sorry you were worried.’
‘I didn’t know what to do. I was going to go to Daffodil if you weren’t back in the next half hour.’
‘No need now,’ he said, going over to his daughter and giving her a hug. ‘We’re all present and correct. I could do with a brew, though.’
‘You’ll have to boil a pan on the stove,’ Billie said. ‘I had to earlier.’
‘I’m sure there’s a back-up generator somewhere in the barn,’ Alex said, undoing his boots. ‘Ann left it behind. Not sure if it’s any good, but I could look. When I’ve warmed up, that is.’
‘Do you even know how to connect it up?’ Billie asked.
‘Well, no, but there’s YouTube. I bet there’s something on there.’
‘Hmm,’ Billie said wryly. ‘And how are you going to watch YouTube? We’ve got no power, no phone signal and no Wi-Fi.’
‘Ah…’ Alex gave a sheepish grin. ‘Looks like we’re going back to the Stone Age for a bit then.’
‘It’s kind of nice,’ Zoe said, and both Billie and Alex stared at her. ‘Traditional, you know? Like an old-fashioned Christmas before they had electric. It could be fun.’
‘At least we’re here and in one piece,’ Alex said. ‘That’ll do for me. It also looks as if you’ll be staying here for the foreseeable.’
‘Looks like it. I was going to go home after the service to do some bits for tomorrow’s lunch before we settled down here, but I suppose that’s out of the question after all the unexpected drama.’
‘We’ll manage. It doesn’t matter if lunch isn’t perfect, as long as we’re together.’
‘I know, but it’s our first one together, and I wanted it to be. I offered, and I’m…well, I’m disappointed. I wanted it to be special.’
‘It will be.’ He smiled warmly at her before clapping his hands together. ‘Right…let’s see about this pan-on-the-stove business, and when we’ve had a cup of tea and warmed up, we’ll do the Christmas Eve present exchange, eh, Billie?’
‘Yeah,’ Billie said, her gaze going to a neatly wrapped parcel on the table. She’d clearly been ready and waiting for some time.
Zoe couldn’t help but feel responsible for the delay, but wasn’t sure how it could have been helped in the end.
Finally, with the feeling just about coming back to her extremities, Zoe was sitting with a blanket over her lap in front of the fire with a cup of hot tea. Billie had settled down with her while Alex went to get their early gifts from under the tree.
‘I saw Maisie,’ Zoe said to Billie. ‘I think you made quite an impression on her.’
‘Did I?’
Zoe nodded. ‘Seemed like she had a great time with you. And thanks for cooking for her. It’s good to know she’s getting some decent food.’
‘Well, if she comes over again, I’ll cook something else for her.’
‘That would be great. And good for her to see you being so sensible about your pregnancy.’
‘Yeah, she told me about her mum. What a dickhead.’
